When she got back to Connecticut, she visited a fire station near Sandy Hook to meet first responders. She attended victims' funerals. She did it because, as a Newtown state representative, she knew she needed to support her constituents.

"You need to be there. The families need to know you're there supporting them. You're the leadership of the community," Hovey said.

Now, months after Sandy Hook, many of her constituents want laws changed -- on guns, mental health, and school safety -- to prevent future school shootings.

Hovey is part of an unfortunate club: politicians who represent sites of mass shootings. She has to represent victims of a tragedy, while enacting policy reform.

But during five terms in the state House of Representatives, Hovey has cast a variety of pro-gun votes. She is an ex-NRA member who has taken a campaign contribution from the group; she served as state co-chairwoman of a conservative policy group, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which supported stand-your-ground-style gun laws.

After Sandy Hook, she drew nationwide controversy for telling former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a victim of a mass shooting, to "stay out" of the towns in Hovey's district.

And though Adam Lanza used an assault-style weapon and multiple extended ammunition clips, firing 154 rounds in under 5 minutes, leaving some victims riddled with up to 11 bullets, Hovey has thus far refused to take a position for or against those weapons.

"The number of rounds in a magazine, and some of the other issues, I'm still taking that all in. I've tried to be really careful not to have a position," Hovey said, citing her seat on the mental health subcommittee of the bi-partisan A Safer Connecticut task force.

"DebraLee Hovey, as far as I'm concerned, is a complete failure" as a legislator, said Dave Stowe, a founding member of the Newtown Action Alliance, a gun reform advocacy group.

He adds there are plenty of gun owners who want gun law reform, and can't understand why Hovey is not taking a stronger stand on gun reform, especially on the types of weapons Lanza used.

Hovey has the support of some political leaders in Newtown and Monroe, and many residents. She maintains her district wants a pro-Second Amendment legislator, no matter if, geographically, it's associated with mass gun violence.

"She is very outspoken," says Republican Newtown First Selectwoman Pat Llodra. "What you see is what you get."

When asked how she can support gun rights and gun victims at the same time, Hovey responds:

"That's part of the struggle, isn't it? I support the Constitution. I support the Second Amendment. I think that it's clear that you have certain rights, but there's also responsible ways of maintaining those rights. That truly is the crux of my dilemma as an elected official."

A responsible gun owner

Hovey first ran to represent the 112th District, which covers Monroe and part of Newtown, in 2002.She faced no Democratic challenger that year, and has handily won every election since. A Democrat has not held that seat since 1976.

She calls herself a moderate, and her legislative record is favorable on domestic violence issues, women's reproductive health and the environment.

Her voting record on guns leans conservative, but admirers and opponents of Hovey say guns have never been a big issue for her.

Her campaign finance records show one contribution from the National Rifle Association from 2004 for $250. When asked if she would describe her legislative record as "pro-gun," she said, "No -- pro Second Amendment."

In 2006, she voted against a bill that would criminalize firearms trafficking as a class B or C felony, and would make it a crime for a gun owner not to report a lost or stolen firearm within 72 hours.

"A lot of people don't recognize when a gun is lost," she says of her "no" vote. The bill became law anyway. On the vote, Hovey said she "maybe made a mistake."

In 2004, she voted against a law that would require the state to report any resident prohibited from possessing a gun because of a felony or "adjudicated as a mental defective" to the FBI for the National Instant Criminal Background Check.

In 2011, she voted in favor of a law -- PA 11-134, "An Act Establishing A Procedure For Relief From Certain Federal Firearms Prohibitions" -- that would allow people prohibited from owning guns because of "mental or developmental disabilities" to reapply for a gun permit.

In this legislative session, she introduced HB5179, which would allow gun dealers access on holidays to the automated state authorizations for a firearm. She introduced the law before the Sandy Hook slayings.

"To say that's a priority would not be accurate," Hovey said of getting the bill passed this year.

Hovey was state co-chairwoman for the American Legislative Exchange Council. According to published reports, ALEC creates model bills for states, including such issues as right to work, voter identification and the stand-your-ground-style laws. The latter became notorious in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting.

She resigned from ALEC after Sandy Hook, she said, to avoid aspersions of influence.

"There's a lot of ALEC that's way too conservative to me," she said.

She says she holds a gun permit and claims she's an excellent shot. There are several guns in her house -- her husband, Paul Balsamo, does plate shooting -- though she says she does not know where they're located or what type they are.

"I don't even really know what we have; I'm oblivious to that kind of thing," Hovey said. "We're responsible gun owners; our guns are under lock and key."

She says her constituents want a pro-Second Amendment legislator right now.

"I think you can support the Second Amendment, and still ask for changes in our gun laws in Connecticut," she said.

Some disagree with her.

"Lawmakers like DebraLee Hovey who do not lead on these issues that are so important should be voted out of office," said Monte Frank, the leader of Team 26, a group of bicycle riders that recently rode from Sandy Hook to Washington, D.C., to bring awareness to gun law reform.

Frank took particular issue with Hovey's comments about Giffords. She supported Team 26 on its ride to Washington.

"Gabby Giffords is an American hero, and when you have a state representative from this area complaining about [Giffords], I find that appalling," he said.

How far is Hovey willing to go on new gun reforms?

On March 8 -- 85 days after Sandy Hook -- she sent an email to constituents listing gun reforms she would favor. The email did not mention banning extended ammunition clips; it mentions assault weapons, but only to underscore that the state already has an assault weapons ban.

Hovey wants universal background checks for gun purchasers. Under current law, you don't need a permit to buy or own a rifle or shotgun.

Handgun purchasers undergo a background check because a permit is needed to carry them.

In addition to requiring a permit, she would require purchasers of "any long gun" to take safety courses.

She also wants to raise to 21 the age to buy "a center fire rifle that accepts a magazine with a capacity exceeding ten rounds." Right now, you need to be 21 only to buy a handgun, but her policy appears to allow those under 21 to possess center fire rifles with magazines with less than 10 rounds.

Another change would require a gun to be kept locked or "within close proximity thereto" the owner if the person lives in the same home as a felon, those under a restraining order or mental defectives.

In her email, Hovey wrote, "It should also be noted that (Connecticut) is one of four states that already has an assault weapon ban. That along with these new laws closes some of the loopholes and provides teeth to our gun laws."

By contrast, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants to close loopholes in the assault weapons ban by expanding the definition of "assault weapons" under the law.

Under the current ban, assault weapons are defined in part by having at least two characteristics from a state-specified list.Malloy wants to pare that to one characteristic.

For example, if a rifle could accept a detachable magazine and had both a bayonet mount and a grenade launcher, it would be illegal under current law. But, if it had just a detachable magazine and a grenade launcher, it would be legal.

Under Malloy's proposal, having just one of those characteristics would make it illegal. There are five total characteristics for rifles in the current ban.

Hovey's email does not address that point, nor does she address that the ban only includes some three dozen specific types of weapons (for example, the AK-47).

Her email also details mental health reforms, which she said should be the main focus of new policy, not gun law reform.

For Jim Hudson, a Hovey constituent from Monroe and a registered Republican, her stance on guns is too weak. Hudson, 50, is a member of the Newtown Action Alliance.

He has voted for Hovey in the past, but wants to see another Republican run in 2014. He was so turned off by her in 2012, he didn't vote in the 112th District race.

"I find her lack of leadership frustrating," Hudson said. "The (email to constituents) makes it seem like she was doing something when really she was just following the minimum of what they think they can get away with in the Connecticut legislature.

"She hasn't been a proponent of doing anything," he continued.

Controversy and Support

On a recent sunny day in Newtown, Lilian Schneider was standing outside the Stop & Shop along Route 25 trying to recall something about her state representative. A Monroe resident, Schneider could only recall Hovey had been "in the news" recently for a controversy.

Schneider was referring to Hovey's posting on Facebook about Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was gravely injured in a mass shooting.

"Gabby Gifford [sic] stay out of my towns!!" Hovey wrote on her personal Facebook wall in response to hearing that Giffords would visit Newtown.

The post was picked up by major media outlets. Hovey apologized publicly, but she still stands by her original reasoning for writing it: Giffords' presence in Newtown was a political stunt, and she should have warned Hovey she was coming.

"She was coming to promote an anti-gun agenda," Hovey said.

"Again, it was unfortunate, and probably a little impulsive on my part," she added. "I would never overtly hurt Gabby Giffords' feelings; she's suffered a terrible, terrible event."

Hovey's portion of Newtown is a triangle between the Monroe line, the neighborhood of Botsford and Route 34. Her district ends a few miles south of Sandy Hook. It's a rural area that contains farmland, winding roads, some paved, some not, and a mix of new and older homes.

Some local officials continue to praise Hovey. They say she's a real person who votes her conscience and what she thinks is best for constituents.

"She has strong convictions, which I admire," said Monroe First Selectman Steve Vavrek, a Republican. "In my mind, she's been very good to work with."

Llodra described Hovey as having a "bigger than life" personality and not afraid to "call a spade a spade, even when it's a club." When asked about gun control, Llodra said Hovey would make a responsible decision, and in Newtown, there's "not one voice" on the issue.

An older couple, who would give only their last name, Gates, and live in Hovey's district, said they would continue to vote for her because she's a Republican. They do not agree with gun control.

"They want to come and take away the Second Amendment?" said the man. "The guy (Adam Lanza) did it, not the guns!"

"She's going to have to make an informed decision when the (gun control) bills in the state legislature come before her," he said.

David Cameron, a political science professor at Yale University, said no amount of laws can really change the culture of guns in this country. But elected officials, he said, should hear the voices of gun violence victims loudest.

"I would say any legislator should ask him or herself, 'What would you say to a parent of a child killed in Newtown that day,'" he said. "I can't imagine how anyone could not feel obliged to make sure that Connecticut took a leadership role in this."

When asked what Hovey would tell a Sandy Hook resident who asked her to ban assault weapons, she said she would "want to know if they know what assault weapons are, then I would want to have a conversation with them about that."

Can she support strengthening the ban on assault weapons and outright banning extended ammunition clips?

"Connecticut has a ban (on assault rifles)," Hovey responds. "And if it's not enforceable, then what we need to do is give officials the kind of teeth (in the law) they need without usurping citizens' rights.

"I'm trying to be as open minded as possible. I'm a mother, I'm an educator, I represent the people of Sandy Hook.

"It's pretty hard to have gone through what we've gone through and not to have perspectives on some things. Hopefully, the legislature will come out and you'll see those votes," Hovey said.